In an effort to help save the environment, a group of 20 researchers from Universiti Tekno­logi Malaysia (UTM) has built an environmental friendly house at the Skudai campus here.

The members consist of undergraduates and postgraduates who took almost a year to complete the eco-home project with the focus on energy-saving.

Interesting project with real positive impact on the environment. Hopefully the university research project will be commercialised and its outcomes channeled into practical uses.

Dr Muhd Zaimi said the house had a smart home automation system, where all electrical components such as fans, lights, air conditioner units and others could be controlled via a software in a smartphone.

“This software is suitable for those who are busy and often forget to switch off lights, as the system can be used when one is out of the house,” he said.

However, he said the software was only compatible with Android-based smartphones.

Just thinking aloud: will those people with the bad habit of not switching off lights use the app to switch them off after they leave the house? Since the mobile app is for "those who are busy and often forget", will these busy people have time or be notified via the mobile app to switch off the lights? Taking this one step further, isn't the whole point of home automation to automate the switching on and off the lights depending on the presence of people?